Chapter 4
Out in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, Astrid and the other riders were resting their dragons on an iceberg with Tenor. They had set out from Berk to look for Hiccup and the others. They had been looking all day and all night. Astrid was getting more and more nervous.
"I don't like it," she said. "They could be anywhere."
"And I'm assuming by anywhere you mean in trouble," said Tenor.
"Do you think they've been captured?" said Astrid.
"My comrades don't do captured," said Tenor.
"Re got captured by Dagur once," Snotlout reminded him.
"Oh, yeah," said Tenor embarrassed. Astrid was becoming more and more worried by the minuet.
"We should try to find Drago," she said.
"He could be anywhere too," said Fishlegs. "How will we find him?"
"Eret," Tenor blurted out. "I think I can find his ship again, and we can force him to take us to wherever Drago is hiding."
"Tenor that's brilliant," said Astrid. "But how can you find the ship again?"
"It was heading northeast," Tenor said. "And unless I'm mistaking it should still be heading that way if it wanted to get to Drago."
"Lets go then," said Astrid. "Lead the way Tenor." The riders mounted their dragons and they all took off, following Tenor.
Back at the dragon city Hiccup and Valka flew on their dragons high over the ocean. Aurora flew near them, she was secretly using her magic to draw huge amounts of fish towards where the Alpha was waiting. They were followed by all the dragon refugees. Hiccup looked behind him at the stampede of dragons.
"I thought you said we were going to eat?" he called, confused.
"Oh we are," said Valka cheerfully. She steered Cloudjumper around to face Toothless and they came to a halt. Hiccup was still looking confused so she pointed down towards water. They looked down to see the Alpha rising towards the surface with a mouthful of fish. He burst out of the water and spat the fish out. Aurora's enchantment had worked perfectly and soon the dragons found themselves in a heavy downpour of fish. They didn't hesitate in snatching up as many as they could. Toothless hadn't had a fresh catch in years, he always got his fish in a basket. Aurora soon joined them, flying upside down so the fish fell into her mouth. She continued to bring in fish with her magic, and the Alpha continued launching it into the sky. The dragons were very happy. When Aurora had her fill she landed on top of a table top glacier, covered in snow. She laid down in the snow and laid her wings out to soak up the sun. She watched the other dragons fly through the air catching all the fish they could, Toothless and Cloudjumper were among them. Aurora felt so tired after her long flight, but the sunlight and the fish helped a lot. She rolled onto her back and stretched her wings as far as they would go, and dozed off.
She lay there for quite a while. The sun and the snow felt lovely on her scales and wings. Then she heard the landing thuds of two dragons, and Hiccup and Valka talking. Aurora rolled onto her side, still with her eyes closed. She listened to their conversation and from the sound of it, they were talking about their travels. Aurora was starting to wonder how long it would be before Hiccup and/or Valka found Draconia. She wasn't too worried though, these two seemed to respect dragons and thought them just as importuned as humans. Aurora opened her eyes and watched them. Hiccup was showing Valka the map he'd made with Toothless. Valka was using her staff to draw maps in the snow. Then Toothless broke off a huge icicle and used it to draw his own lines, Cloudjumper watched in fascination. Hiccup and Valka watched as well, both laughing. Toothless drew his picture around Cloudjumper, but when he tried to drop the icicle he found it stuck to his tongue. He panicked and tried to get it unstuck. Everyone was laughing at him, he felt so embarrassed. He looked over at Aurora, his eyes clearly asking for help. Aurora chuckled then clicked her claws and the icicle fell to the ground. Toothless shot her a look of gratitude at Aurora then began laughing himself. Then Valka turned to Aurora as well.
"You said where come from dragons could speak human languages," she said. "Where exactly are you from?" Aurora quickly looked at Cloudjumper, who nodded.
"I come from a land way far to the south," Aurora said. "It's a land that can only be found by dragons. It's called Draconia. Dragons there are very well civilized and advanced."
"Really?" said Valka. "How is it that dragons are the only ones who could find it?"
"Because dragons are the only ones who know were it is," said Aurora. "And no offense to you two but we aren't allowed to tell humans how to find it, we with to keep away any invasion. So all I will say is this; if you want to find it you'll have to come on dragonback."
"What dose Draconia look like exactly?" Hiccup asked. Aurora got to her feet, it was her turn to draw in the snow. She used the tip of her tail to draw the outline of her country, including the island that surrounded it. It looked like a large, fat bean with a bite taken out of the southwest corner.
"It's almost 600 square miles," said Aurora, as she finished. "And I don't want to brag or anything but my mate Re, and I are the rulers of it. This head plate would double as my crown. But up here it's just a head plate."
"Where is Re?" Hiccup asked, he had meant to ask that earlier.
"No idea," Aurora lied. "I hope he's okay." She of course knew that Re was flying closer to her, but she couldn't tell any human that she had magic, even humans so trusted as Hiccup and Valka.
As the day went on Hiccup and Valka rode their dragons among the others. Aurora joined them after she had a drink of water. The dragons had found a strong updraft near on of the glaciers. It was so strong that the dragons gust hung in the air. Valka and Cloudjumper were near the top of the crowd and Hiccup and Toothless were near the middle. The draft was strong enough to support Toothless without the use of his tailfins. Valka started walking from dragon wing to dragon wing, she did this as casually as walking through her own house. She even walked across Toothless's wings, before jumping back onto Cloudjumper. both he and Toothless carried their riders way up high, where Aurora was circling.
"And now I'm up here," Valka sighed. "I don't even feel cold I just feel..."
"Free," Hiccup finished, he felt the same way. He and his mother smiled at each other. Then Valka spread her arms out wide.
"This is what it is to be a dragon Hiccup," she exclaimed happily. Hiccup began pulling the leaver that held Toothless's red tailfin.
"It's all well and good to call yourself a dragon," he said as he stood up in the saddle. "But can you fly?" Then he leaped off Toothless's back like a squirrel from a tree branch. He fell a few feet then snapped open his leather wings and glided over the water. Toothless shot Cloudjumper a smirk, that clearly said 'yeah, that's right, my rider can fly.' Cloudjumper looked quite impressed. But then Toothless remembered that he was supposed to be keeping an eye on Hiccup in case he was heading for anything bad. He immediately dived after Hiccup and caught up with him easily. Valka steered Cloudjumper down to fly next to Hiccup and Aurora flew next to Toothless.
"Impressed?" Toothless asked Aurora, smartly.
"Sure," said Aurora. "But what are you going to do when he hits that?" She pointed to a tall rock right in Hiccup's way. Toothless shot after him as fast as he could. Aurora and Cloudjumper steered clear of the obstacle. Toothless managed to catch Hiccup in his paws and the flew passed the rock. He crashed landed in a large patch of snow. He sat up and looked around for Hiccup, who popped up out of the snow in a good mood.
"Whoa, man, we almost had it that time," Hiccup said. Toothless scowled and knocked his tail into Hiccup's legs, causing him to fall back into the snow. Then they were joined by Aurora and Cloudjumper. Valka dismounted and ran over to Hiccup as he got back to his feet. She was so impressed by Hiccup's invention.
"Incredible," she said, examining the back fin. Hiccup rolled up his leather wings and put them away. When he stood up again Valka gently took is face in her hand. He leaned into her hand, much like Toothless did every time someone petted him.
"All this time you took after me," Valka said, with pride. "And where was I?" She seemed a bit ashamed.
"Will you give me another chance?" She asked. Hiccup said nothing. "I can teach you all that I've learned these passed twenty years." She went over to Toothless and nudged her fingers into the nap of his neck, this caused the spines on his back to split open with a series of clicks. Toothless was so surprised, he smiled the biggest smile in the dragon's world.
"No you can make those tight turns," Valka told him, beaming. Toothless pranced around, clapping his spines. He ran over to Hiccup, and gurgled as if to say 'did you see what she just did?' Hiccup was surprised as well.
"Did you know about this?" he asked his dragon, and judging from Toothless's excitement he didn't.
"Every dragon has its secrets," Valka said, chuckling. "And I'll show them all to you." Toothless went back to prancing around, clapping his spines. He dived into the snow and burrowed his way over to where Cloudjumper and Aurora sat. He jumped out covered in snow. Aurora giggled.
"This is so cool!" Toothless exclaimed. "This could help me greatly with flying. I wonder why I've never known about it?"
"Most likely because it hasn't developed until very recently," said Aurora. "And because you've had no other Night Furies to tell you about it."
"Does Tenor know about this?" Toothless asked, clapping his spines again.
"Yes," said Aurora. "He discovered it last year." The three dragons looked over at Hiccup and Valka, locked up in a warm hug.
"They look so happy," said Cloudjumper.
"Yeah," said Aurora. "And if Stoic gets up here, they'll be even happier. They'll be a family again, and with dragons added to it."
"You think Stoic can be trusted?" asked Cloudjumper.
"Yes," said Aurora and Toothless in unison.
"My colleagues and I trust him with our lives," said Aurora.
"He tried to take my head off last time," said Cloudjumper.
"And how long ago was that again?" Aurora asked.
"Twenty years ago," said Cloudjumper.
"Right," said Aurora. "Times have changed, a lot. The vikings of Berk and the dragons are now allies."
"She's right," said Toothless. "The loss of this tailfin was a small price to pay for piece." He looked at his red tailfin. "That and Hiccup's leg."
"I see," said Cloudjumper softly. They fell silent as Hiccup and Valka ended their hug.
"Oh, this is so great," Hiccup exclaimed. "Now you and I can go talk to Drago together."
"What?" Valka asked, laughing humorlessly. "There's no talking to Drago. We protect our
own." Hiccup sighed heavily.
"Come on, we should get back," Valka said. Hiccup turned to Aurora.
"Does no one think I can change Drago's mind?" he asked.
"Well, everyone says Drago's a mad man," said Aurora. "And everyone who has said that, have all met him and know what he's like." She spread her wings and followed Cloudjumper. Hiccup turned to Toothless, who was still beaming and clapping his spines. Hiccup mounted him and they all headed back towards the city.
Tenor lead the other riders through the glaciers and icebergs. He kept his sharp eyes open for Eret's ship. It took him a while, but he soon found it. It was stuck in ice and not moving.
"Wow nice work Tenor," said Astrid.
"Thanks, that was the wildest stab in the dark I've ever made," Tenor said.
"You mean you didn't think this would actually work?" asked Astrid. Tenor shrugged sheepishly.
"Would you be so kind as to fetch Eret?" Astrid asked, sweetly.
"At your service Ms. Astrid," said Tenor. He dived towards the ship, his eyes fixed on Eret. Tenor swooped down and snatched him up in his back talons. He flew back up to the others, ignoring Eret's protest.
"What is this?" Eret yelled up at Astrid.
"A kidnaping," Astrid answered.
"What do you want?" snapped Eret, trying to pry his arm and leg out of Tenor's talons.
"You're going to show us the way to Drago," Astrid ordered.
"And help dragon riders sneak into Drago's camp?" said Eret. "Just kill me now."
"That can be arranged," said Astrid. Tenor dropped Eret towards the sea. He screamed as he fell down. Tenor waited for a second then dived after him.
"Okay, okay, I'll take you to Drago!" Eret screamed. Tenor put on a burst of speed and snagged his prize again.
"Nice job Tenor," Astrid laughed. Tenor smiled pompously.
"I find I have a talent for catching a falling target," he boasted. Then he turned to Eret.
"Which way to Drago?"
"Due north," Eret grunted. Tenor turned and led the other riders towards Drago.
Back in the dragon city Hiccup and Toothless were resting on the ledge that over looked the Bewilderbeast. Valka, Cloudjumper, and Aurora were elsewhere looking after a few flightless dragons.
"Well bud we can't wait around for Drago to attack this place," Hiccup said to Toothless. The Night Fury was being swamped by the baby dragons again. Toothless kept trying to ignore them but it wasn't working. Finally he let out a loud roar and they scattered, he blinked a few times impressed with himself. But then he felt one last one chewing on his tail. Toothless growled. Hiccup watched all this amused.
"Let's get going," he said. But suddenly he was grabbed from behind and a hand covered his mouth. Toothless turned and growled, but saw that it was only Stoic, and Gobber. Stoic let Hiccup go and he spun around.
"What? How did you get in here?" Hiccup hissed, horrified.
"Same way we're getting you out," Stoic whispered. He pulled Hiccup towards the tunnel that led outside, Toothless and Gobber followed.
At the other end of the tunnel Aurora was sitting next to Cloudjumper. Valka was wrapping up the injured leg of a Monstrous Nightmare. Aurora had removed her head plate to let her head cool off.
"Where did you get that armor?" asked Cloudjumper.
"Our blacksmith made it," said Aurora, admiring her crown. "She made both of my comrades armor as well."
"What's with the snowflake?" Cloudjumper asked.
"It's my insignia," said Aurora. "My father named me after the lights that appear in the cold, north sky, and that only can be seen during the winter. So the winter sky is my sky, winter has no negative effect on me." At that moment they heard voices coming from the tunnel, loud voices. Valka finished her work and the dragon walked off. She turned to face the tunnel, she recognized the voices that were approaching. Aurora recognized them as well; Stoic and Gobber had arrived at last.
"This is about to get interesting," Aurora whispered to herself. She put her crown back on, just as Gobber appeared at the mouth of the tunnel. He looked shocked. He slowly turned around and let Stoic through. When Stoic came into the chamber and saw Valka, he was at a lost for words. He dropped the sword he was holding, his mouth hanging open in wonder. Hiccup, Gobber, and Toothless came out behind him. No one said anything for a few minuets.
"I know what you're going to say, Stoic," Valka said, her voice shaking. "How could I have done this? Stayed away all this time? Well what sign did I have that any of you could change. I tried to so hard to stop the fighting, begging you to find an alternitive, but did any of you listen." Stoic was slowly and quietly approaching her, still too shocked for words.
"I know that I left you to raise Hiccup alone," Valka went on. "But I thought you'd be safer if I stayed away." Stoic still said nothing.
"Oh stop being so stoic Stoic," Valka said. "Go on shout, say something." Stoic very gently touched her face, and finally he spoke.
"You're as beautiful as the day I lost you," he said very gently. No one said a word, even the dragons were quiet and still. Aurora began grooming her wings, just to take her mind off the silence.
Back with Tenor and the other riders, they had finally reached the glacier where Drago's camp was hidden. The dragons landed, and the riders dismounted. Tenor dropped Eret onto the ground, then took off again.
"Where are you going?" Astrid asked.
"Back up fire," Tenor whispered back. "I get the feeling you're going to need it." He flew off into the shadows. Eret was about to get up, but was pinned to the ground by Stormfly. The riders walked towards the edge of the cliff they had landed on. They looked down at a huge armada of black ships, made of wood and metal. The biggest one sat in the center, large chains were attached to its bow. The other end of the chains were attached to something deep in the water and producing a large amount of bubbles.
"What's down there?" Astrid wondered aloud. Fishlegs reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a deck of dragon flash cards and began shuffling through them muttering to himself. Suddenly the dragons started growling at something behind them. Stormfly flew off, releasing Eret. The riders were suddenly surrounded by vikings in polar bear pelts. They approached the riders with spears. The dragons tried to go to their aid but the vikings shot tranquilizer darts at them, and the dragons passed out. Then the vikings captured the riders, chained them up, and hauled them away.
Tenor circled the armada, keeping to the shadows. He soon spotted the riders and their dragons as they were brought aboard the flagship. He rolled his eyes.
"Couldn't stay uncaptured for five minuets," he muttered. He glided down and landed on a ledge near the flagship, his powerful hearing could pick up what everyone was saying.
"Drago!" said Eret, who was also tied up. "How are my fine fellow?" A large, dark man came out of the shadows. He had a series of scars all over his face, and on his head was a series of dark, greasy dreadlocks. He wore a black cloak made from dragon skin, and held a mean looking spear. He approached the riders and dragons, smirking.
"As you can see, I am right on time with a new batch of dragons," said Eret. Drago looked at the dragons, tied to a large cart. He seemed pleased.
"And as an added bounous," Eret continued. "I also caught you their riders, free of charge." Drago ignored him, and walked closer to the dragons. Hookfang woke up and Drago's men were trying to restrain him.
"Drop the ropes," Drago barked. His men obeyed. Hookfang looked Drago in the eye. Then he shot fire at him, but Drago wrapped his cloak around himself and the fire didn't touch him. Hookfang stopped firing when he saw it was making to dent. Drago walked right up to the dragon, smirking. Then he let out a dragon like roar right at Hookfang. The Nightmare drew back, scared. As Drago came closer Hookfang gave a sad moan and lowered his head to Drago's feet. Drago planted his foot on Hookfang's snout.
"You belong to me now," he growled.
"Leave him alone," snapped Snotlout. Drago turned his attention back to the riders.
"How many more are there?" he asked.
"A whole island full," Astrid boasted. "And when Hiccup comes he will..."
"Hiccup?" Drago interrupted.
"He's not a problem," said Eret quickly. "I assure you my men are hunting him down as we speak."
"He's only the son of Stoic the Vast," said Astrid bravely. "His heir to the throne of Berk, and the greatest dragon master this world has ever seen."
"Dragon master?" said Drago. "I alone control the dragons."
"No, sorry," said Snotlout, laughing.
"And unless you let us go, right now," Astrid continued. "He will blast through here on his Night Fury, and will defeat you all." Drago growled, then turned on Eret.
"First there was one rider," he snapped. "And now all of Berk? And you led them to me." He shoved Eret to the ground. He went back up to the prow of the ship.
"Stop all preparations," he ordered. "We must attack the dragon rider's nest at once. We will take down their Alpha, then we will take Berk." His men cheered.
"Drago!" Eret cried. Drago looked at him with disgust.
"Get rid of him," he barked. One of the guards was about to shot Eret with a tranquilizer, but Eret was suddenly saved by Stormfly, who landed in front of Eret and took the tranquilizer for him. She dropped to the ground and passed out. Eret didn't know what to say, the dragon he had caught in a net just a few days ago had just saved his life, even when she had no reason to do so.
"Stormfly!" cried Astrid.
"Lock them up," Drago ordered. His men began to haul the riders away. The armada pulled up their anchors and head out, Tenor followed. He stayed out of sight, waiting for a good moment to sneak aboard the flagship and free the riders and their dragons.
Back in the dragons' city Hiccup, his family, and all their dragons were walking towards Valka's cave. While they walked; Hiccup, Stoic, and Gobber began filling Valka in on everything that had happened during her absence. They were soon joined by Skullcrusher, Grump, and Re, who had been waiting outside. They all entered the cave and sat in a big circle around a campfire that Re lit. Aurora sat next to Cloudjumper and Toothless. Once the fire was going Re laid down next to his mate.
"I thought you would never get here," Aurora said, nuzzling him. He nuzzled her back.
"It took us forever to find this place," Re said. "It's pretty far and we're not accustomed to the cold like you are."
"Where's Tenor?" Aurora asked.
"I told him to keep an eye on the other riders," said Re. "He'll get here eventually, I'm sure of that." They fell silent as they watched the four humans cooking fish. Stoic then turned to Re and Aurora.
"Say there are a few questions I've wanted to ask, but never got around to it," he said.
"Fire away," said Re. "I will tell you everything I can."
"Do you dragons follow the same gods we do?" asked Stoic.
"No, your gods don't like us very well," said Aurora. "They can't get passed our 'devilish appearance'. So we follow our own gods and have our own after life." She reached into a pouch on her saddle and pulled out a scroll. She undid the string and rolled it across the room. It rolled into the center of the cave and opened up. On the scroll was a constellation of stars with a cation below it, that said The Dragon's Heaven, ruled by Lord Draco, the Great Dragon God.
"I've seen those stars," said Hiccup. "They form the shape of a dragon."
"Yes," said Aurora. "That's were a good dragon's spirit goes when it dies. And it's ruled by Draco." Aurora rolled the scroll back up and put it away.
"You have saddles but no riders?" Valka asked.
"Our rider is currently at home with malaria," said Re. "Her name is Serenity. She was raised by dragons and is a very good dragon healer."
"Raised by dragons?" said Valka.
"Yes, her family was rather abusive," said Aurora. "So her guardian dragon, Ruby, took her under his wing and taught her to ride. She's been riding since she was five."
"And how long ago was that exactly?" asked Gobber.
"No idea," said Re. "Dragons don't really count years like you humans do." They talked some more for quite a long time. Valka told them all about her adventures, and Stoic, Gobber, and Hiccup told her about theirs.
Back on Drago's ship Eret and the riders were about to be shoved off the gangplank. They weren't happy at all.
"Can this day get any worse?" Snotlout shouted at the skies.
"We're going to jump into freezing cold water and die from drowning," said Tuffnut.
"Sounds refusing," said Eret. He then turned to Astrid. "Please ladies first." He smirked. Astrid glared at him.
"You, stinking, hunk of dragon..."
"Duck," Eret said, interrupting Astrid's insult. Eret swung his legs at the two men holding Astrid, he kicked them both in the head and knocked them out. Just then Tenor landed on the gangplank and took out the rest of the foes, then cut the riders' bonds.
"Where have you been?" Astrid whispered at him.
"I choose my fights very carefully," Tenor whispered back. "I figured I could either fly down and use much needed energy to fight thousands of trappers; or I could save that energy for a later fight and rescue you now when I don't have to battle several foes at once. Hey it makes my life easier."
"A dragon who knows battle strategies," said Eret impressed.
"Yeah, with humans out to get us we have to think like our enemy," said Tenor. "It's kept us alive for all these years. Now are we going to free your dragons or not?" Once their bonds were cut Eret and the riders split up to search the traps that were scattered all over the deck. Tenor went with Astrid. They went to the first trap they saw and ducked under the tarp that covered the trap. Tenor went to the crank that opened the trap, and began turning it.
"Eret seems to have changed his mind about dragons," Astrid said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, being saved by a dragon does seem to have that effect," Tenor said.
"Do you think Hiccup can change Drago's mind too?" Astrid asked. Tenor finished opening the trap.
"Well, if he does it'll be miracle," he said. "Drago doesn't seem like the changing-mind type." Tenor gave Astrid a boost up to the opening in the trap. Astrid looked into the trap and spotted Meatlug bound and muzzled. Astrid jumped into the trap and began to free her.
"Nice speech by the way," Tenor said as Astrid began uniting the Gronkle.
"Thanks," said Astrid.
Elsewhere on the ship Eret had just opened up the trap that held Stormfly. He jumped into the trap and slowly approached the Nadder. Eret still couldn't get over how selfless this dragon had been. She had absolutely no reason to save his life, but she did anyway. Eret couldn't help but think that maybe Hiccup had been right about dragons. As he got closer Stormfly squirmed, her eyes wide and afraid. Eret held out his hand.
"Thank you, for saving my life," he whispered. Stormfly looked at him, and he knew that she understood. She leaned forward and placed her snout in his palm.
"Now let me return the favor," Eret said. Stormfly gave a small nod. Once all the dragons were found, Eret and the riders regrouped near Stormfly's trap.
"So what's the plan?" asked Snotlout.
"Hide in the traps with your dragons," said Eret. "Then when Drago's ready for battle at the Dragon Rider's nest, we burst out and bring down hel."
"And I'm getting the feeling that this nest is where we're going to find Hiccup and the others," said Tenor. "So they can help, and Drago won't stand a chance against my cousin."
"Is he your cousin?" Eret asked.
"I don't know," Tenor said honestly. "He could be."
"Lets get going before we're found out," Astrid whispered. Eret nodded.
"Tenor, would you mind if I ride you for this?" he asked. Tenor looked him up and down.
"You think you can hang on?" he said. "I can get pretty erratic."
"I'll do my best," said Eret.
"Very well," said Tenor. "You can ride me and I'll try to easy on you."
"Thanks," said Eret. With that they went back into the traps with the dragons, Tenor joined Astrid and Eret in Stormfly's trap. They sat there to wait.
Back in Valka's cave the family had left the campfire and were making lunch. Everyone was now brought up to date. The dragons sat in a semicircle watching and listening. Valka and Stoic were chopping up cod for shishcabobs. Hiccup was still ranting on about what had changed in Berk.
"You would not believe how much things have changed back home," he said as he grabbed a few fish from a basket. "Where we used to make weapons we now make saddles, wing slings, we even fix dragon teeth." He closed the lid of the basket before Toothless could get any. The Night Fury was feeling a bit hungry, he hadn't eaten for a while. He began to sniff around for and scraps, his stomach rumbling. He looked over at Re and Aurora who were munching on dried squid they'd brought from home. Toothless sat next to them and Cloudjumper.
"You okay?" Aurora asked. Toothless was about to answer when suddenly a few shishcabobs landed on the ground in front of him. He went to eat them, but they were snatched up by Cloudjumper. Toothless looked at the spot sadly, then up at Cloudjumper, giving him his big cute eyes. Cloudjumper looked at him and gave in. He upchucked half of the fish for Toothless and the younger dragon slurped it up, a dragon slurppie. Cloudjumper looked over at Aurora who was watching, she giggled and winked at him, making Cloudjumper blush. They turned back to the humans, Hiccup was still talking non stop like he was fifteen again.
"And when you move back in we can be a family again," he said. Then Stoic finally got him to quiet down.
"Easy son, it's a lot to take in," he said. Hiccup shut his mouth and sat next to Gobber. Valka was getting water from a dripping icicle. She was very quiet. Then Stoic began whistling a tune. Valka paused and listened, remembering the tune. Stoic walked up to her, still whistling. Then he began singing.
I'll swim and sail on savage seas
With ne'er a fear of drowning
And gladly ride the waves of life
If you will marry me
No scorching sun
Nor freezing cold
Will... Suddenly he was interrupted by Gobber. They all looked at him, and he sat back down. Stoic continued.
If you will promise me your heart
And love... He stopped when Valka still said nothing. Valka remembered this song, from when they were young. She wanted to join in, if she could just remember the next verse. After a few minuets she remembered it and sang a long.
And love me for eternity
My dearest one my darling dear
Your mighty words astound me
But I've no need of mighty deeds
When I feel your arms around me. She and Stoic began dancing as they sang their song.
Stoic:
But I would bring you rings of gold
I'd even sing you poetry
And I would keep you from all harm
If you would stay beside me.
Valka:
I have no use for rings of gold
I care not for your poetry
I only want your hand to hold.
Stoic:
I only want you near me.
BOTH:
To love to kiss to sweetly hold
For the dancing and the dreaming
Through all life's sorrows and delights
I'll keep your laugh inside me
I'll swim and sail on savage seas
With ne'er a fear of drowning
And gladly ride the waves of life
If you will marry me.
As the song and the dancing ended the four vikings began laughing. The dragons watched and listened. Aurora and Re smiled at each other and entwined their tails.
"Who knew these vikings had a similar custom to ours," said Aurora, in Dragontongue.
"With a betrothal song."
"I know," said Re. "And it's nice to see real Viking culture for change."
"Yeah it is," said Aurora. "Especially when they keep wanting to learn about ours." They turned back to watching the vikings, they were all out of breath.
"Never thought I'd see the day when we did that dance again," said Stoic.
"No need for drastic measures," Valka laughed.
"I would be so happy if you came home," Stoic said, getting down on one knee. "Will you come home Val? Will you be my wife once again?" Toothless went over and gave Valka an encouraging scoot forward. Everyone laughed. Stoic got up as Hiccup joined them.
"We can be a family again," said Stoic. "What do you say?" Valka looked at Toothless, he smiled and nodded, he crooned as if to say 'what have you got to loose?' Valka petted him and looked back at Stoic.
"Yes," she said, as though the answer was obvious. Gobber went over to them, and they all gave a group hug with Toothless's head in the middle. Aurora and Cloudjumper looked at each other.
"What did I tell you?" she said. "They're going to be just fine." The vikings ended the group hug, in a very good mood. But then the dragons began to get restless. Toothless growled and curled himself defensively around Hiccup.
"What is it bud?" Hiccup asked nervously. They all turned to the entrance of the cave where they could see the dragons in the rest of the city, all flocking towards the exit. The vikings ran towards the tunnel that led outside. Aurora and Re were right behind them.
When they got out onto a ledge, they saw Drago's armada on the shores of the glacier. The dragon army began fighting the refugees. Valka looked down at it all, she was mad. She turned to go back inside.
"What do you want to do?" Stoic asked. Valka put a hand on Stoic's and Hiccup's shoulder.
"We have to save the dragons," she said. Stoic turned to Re and Aurora.
"Wait for us," he said. Re nodded as the vikings went back in to get their dragons.